1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter of this disclosure is in the field of apparatus for cleaning and/or scraping grill rods, and related methods.
2. Background of the Invention
Grid irons, in cooking vernacular, are a metallic grates that are typically defined by an array of parallel bars or rods, sometimes known as grill rods. When used for cooking, a grid iron is positioned above or below a heat source while food stuffs are positioned on the grill rods of the grid iron for cooking. In practice, residue of food stuff, including char, can remain adhered to surfaces of the grill rods after use. Residual food stuff can be problematic during later uses of the grill rods because the residue can contaminate subsequent food preparations and, as a result, affect flavor or cause illness to consumers of subsequent preparations. Thus, a need exists for apparatus and related methods of cleaning grill rods.
A variety of apparatus exist for cleaning grill rods. Most of such apparatus operate by scraping the tops of grill rods to remove residue and char. Sometimes scraping is accomplished via brushes with stiff bristles (e.g., metal brushes), but these brushes either (i) do not adequately eliminate hardened char and hard residues or (ii) have bristle failure rapidly. Apparatus for cleaning grid irons have also employed various types of scraping blades, but blades are not entirely satisfactory for cleaning grill rods because the sides and bottom side of a grill rod are not cleaned without turning the grid iron over because the action of twisting the tool around the grill rod results in a conflict between the cleaning apparatus and the other grill rods of the grid iron grate. In view of the foregoing, a need exists for apparatus and related methods of cleaning grid irons where the apparatus is sturdy and rigid enough to eliminate hardened char and residue from the top, sides, and bottom of the grill rods, without having to cool down and overturn the grid iron plate.
Others have attempted unsuccessfully to solve the problem of the present application. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,406 (Rood) is only able to clean the top of grill rods unless the user turns the grid iron over on to the other side. U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,342 (Amundsen) can only be used while the grid iron is cool and scraper only fits two grill rod sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,278 (Martin et al.) cannot be used to clean the bottom side of the grill rod without lifting and overturning the entire grid iron. U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,403 (Martin) only employs a scraper that fits two grill rod sizes and the tool is inhibited by adjacent rods, which renders the tool difficult to rotate. The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,185 (Phillips) is not adequate for many grill rod cleaning situations. The twist in the blade of the apparatus limits the use of the same to one-hand. Moreover, the apparatus is not suitable to be used on grill rods of many sizes. Furthermore, the orientation of the scrapping surface requires a close proximity between a user's hand and the grid iron, which renders the cleaning of hot grid irons difficult. As a result, a need still exists for apparatus and related methods of cleaning all sides of a hot or cold grid iron rod.